September 19, 2012

There’s a reason you see an army of law-enforcement officials armed with semi-automatic weapons in New York City’s subways: Public transportation in New York City is a prime target for terrorists who want to blow us up.

So where better to place provocative ads insulting Muslim jihadists than New York City subway stops, right? Because insulting Muslim extremists has always worked out for the best — just ask Salman Rushdie.

Regardless, next week, you can expect to start seeing ads popping up on New York City subways inferring that Muslim jihadists are not “civilized man” but “savages.” You can also expect a lot of people to be pissed off about it — because A) it suggests that all Muslims are America-hating savages hell-bent on Jihad, which they’re not, and B) it seems to invite the very violence it’s advocating against from a group of people whose conflict-resolution skills could use a little work.

The ads, paid for by pro-Israel groups, state that “in any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the
civilized man.” Adding that people should “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad” — the text appearing between
two Stars of David.

Initially, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority declined to approve the ads. However, a federal
judge ruled in July that not allowing the ads violated the First
Amendment rights of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which is
footing the bill for the ad campaign.

The MTA can’t do anything to stop the ads from going up, with a spokesman telling the New York Times that “our hands are tied.”

They’re set to go up at 10 subway stations starting next week. What could go wrong?